If i buy a Technet subscription how long is is valid and how many legal OSes can i download for my own use and use of potential customers if I start doing PC-repair home-calls for private persons who don't have a legit licence?
And can I sell the licenced OSes from Technet?

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1 year. keys last forever.

you can download 9 billion copies, i suggest one ISO per version and save it

as for keys, you get 10 keys for each version - home premium, pro, ultimate, etc

you cant sell them, so you cant use them for customers. they're meant for use personally, or within your own small business.

All OSes downloaded are valid for life. You get 10 copies for YOURSELF, and nobody else.

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It's funny about the number of copies. My Technet sub has expired now and someone told me that before it expired, I could Microsoft and get additional keys for nothing.

When I called Microsoft customer services, they asked me why would I want more keys, as each one can be installed on 10 machines! I swear I'm not making this up.

In support of what he said, I had already tried using the same key for Windows 7 Ultimate on several computers and it just activated over the internet without batting an eyelid. I'm guessing then, that after 10 internet activations, it would start rejecting further ones and require a phone activation?

Finally, I must say the customer support I've had from Microsoft's German support centre on the few occasions I've had to call about the sub has been excellent. Very short waiting times to answer and no long telephone menus. Nice.

And I'll +1 DanishDevil that one is not allowed to sell or give away copies of the software or the keys. Personal use only, in a test environment.

Paul Lilly over at Maximum PC reported today that Microsoft has cut the subscription keys for all the products from 10 down to 5! This is for the Technet Pro subscriptions, however the Technet standard dropped the keys down to two

According to reports, Microsoft has quietly cut the number of product keys it hands out to TechNet subscribers from 10 to a maximum of five. Because this happened on the down low, some subscribers were caught off guard, including some of Microsoft's own employees, some of which told customers it was a bug in the system.

Paul Lilly over at Maximum PC reported today that Microsoft has cut the subscription keys for all the products from 10 down to 5! This is for the Technet Pro subscriptions, however the Technet standard dropped the keys down to two

Have you noticed the price changes and what the available software downloads are.
I never used the free help from MS, but some of the stuff that was available, now, has to be purchased on the higher priced professional tier.

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Lamesauce. I guess they decided to cut back once they realized that the enthusiast community got a hold of it.

Not to mention that they called my cell about 3 times a day for 2 weeks straight when my subscription expired, and most of the time when I would pick up it would just be music, then I would be hung up on. I finally got a hold of somebody and chewed him out. No calls since.

I'm seriously thinking about getting one of these. Then I can play around with Server 2008 and Exchange as well. if one license can be used for 10 computers it's still a good deal. Hmm. Thinking thinking.

And the stuff that's not included in Standard makes no difference to me.

I'm seriously thinking about getting one of these. Then I can play around with Server 2008 and Exchange as well. if one license can be used for 10 computers it's still a good deal. Hmm. Thinking thinking.

And the stuff that's not included in Standard makes no difference to me.

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For a server OS, it's even better: you are not limited to 10 installs! You get one key and can install it as many times as you like. It's called a Multiple Activation Key (MAK).